HEAD
LICE

This subject seems to have created a lot of
interest as it appears to be a world wide problem with no definitive
answer. We have received many different remedies, some more unusual than others,
with different things working for different people.

It has now grown to such an
extent I have decided to divide the information into more user friendly
pages which I hope you will find more convenient.

As always, research, products
and advice is every changing making it very difficult to make available
the most up to date at any given time. With this in mind it may be
worthwhile checking out the following sites as they are very likely to
feature the latest:-

As mentioned in
other pages, the best, safest and cheapest resolution is to remove them
manually with conditioner and a fine tooth comb.

I am retaining the
original information which has been on site for many years in case it is
of interest but I would, however, like to stress at this point that I have
no personal experience of most of the remedies listed I am just passing on information
received from interested visitors.

This page contains many unusual
"remedies" which in themselves may cause concern, before embarking on them I am
listing some words of caution, the first of which have been received from
a Head Lice Consultant -

I am a head lice consultant and treat children and adults for
head lice every day. To begin with we tried head lice treatments but found a number of
problems.

1. The head lice were not dying from the treatment and
continued to breed without any ramifications from the chemicals.

2. Some of the children we treated had devastating side
affects to the treatment including asthma, coughing fits, burning, blistering and in some
cases scaring not to mention long term health risks.

3. I have found that head lice often feed at the time of
treatment and combing is less successful as the louse is attached to the scalp.

Some parents were treating their children every day to try
and rid the parasite where others had bought a treatment with their shopping every week
for as long as three years.

I then decided to research these chemicals and was horrified
by the finding. The NPA reported overwhelming health risk to mainly children and reports
of leukeamia became evident.

I then decided to use basic hair conditioner on dry hair.
Combing the hair thoroughly and in small sections and removing eggs has given me great
success.

I have seen horrific scaring from kerosene, petrol and other
poisons even from those sold over the counter.

I have not yet found a chemical or non chemical solution that
kills the tiny eggs (nits). I have found up to 900 lice on one child's head and hundred
upon hundreds of eggs. without a constant detection program and time consuming combing,
head lice will thrive in schools and day care centers for a long while to come.

Chemicals are poisons and not worth risking our children's
lives. Before using dangerous harmful chemicals that seep through the scalp and into the
blood stream consider alternative non chemical treatments.

Thank you Maryanne
Paterson for this information.

A warning regarding
the use of products such as Vaseline. I took a survival course and one of the things
that we used for quick fire starting is "Vaseline" (petroleum jelly) soaked
cotton swabs. Just a few sparks from a flint stick and "voila" a
fire. Keep your child's head away from open flames e.g. candles, cigarettes
etc. Also beware, this is a petroleum product that you are smothering your child's
head with."

I have to thank Stefan
Meyers for the very timely warning.

I have recently heard from two
people who have noticed bald patches and/or thinning hair after using
two very different proprietary products - one natural, tea tree oil
based and the other a more chemical based product.

In view of this I did a little more
research and here is my response which I thought may be of interest to
others -

I must stress I am not expert.

"I was very concerned when I
received your message, as only last week I received a similar one from
someone a Tea Tree based natural product who was experiencing the same
sort of problem.

I have spoken to my daughter who is
a pharmacist here in the UK and she has not read or heard of any such
adverse affects being recorded nor is she aware of the ingredients of
this type of product being known to have these side effects. Having
said that there are many factors involved such as other medication
being used, child's overall health, product being used correctly etc.

She says that the cheapest and most
effective remedy is still, plenty of conditioner, thorough combing
with a fine tooth comb e.g.
Nit
Free Terminator (USA) or
Nitty Gritty Nit Free (UK) **** and plenty of patience.

She did, however, mention that
there is now a product on the market called "Hedrin" which
is said to be quite effective as it suffocates these lice rather than
poisoning them.

It may be a good idea to consult a
doctor as the bald patches may be unconnected to the hair treatment.

****
This NitFree comb is sometimes available on
prescription from your GP or from any prescribing health visitor,
nurse or Pharmacist - It is listed in Part IXA (Appliances) of the
current Drug Tariff as the Nitty Gritty NitFree Steel nitcomb with
microgrooved teeth.

I have come across the following
site which clearly states one product has now been discontinued in the
UK -
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001115.html
and it is also recommended that if any chemical product does not work
then use should be ceased immediately and to avoid using any other
chemicals.

PERSONAL
RECOMMENDATION FROM LISA

I
would like to add this to the many head lice remedies I’ve read on
your site.I would like to start by saying that this is something
entirely new, which is not toxic, smelly or harmful in anyway to
your hair or your health.It’s an entirely unique approach to snuffing out these hateful
little creatures once and for all!It’s simple, yet the application and procedure IS a bit time
consuming.But for anyone (like me, for instance!) who has done battle
against head lice for YEARS, (or even if you are tired of trying this
and that and spending money on OTC’s, herbal remedies and even
prescription medications that do nothing but make these critters
stronger!) this may be the end of the road for head lice in your
household.

The
product you need to purchase is called Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser.
(Yes, you read correctly, skin cleanser!)I have not done the research to find out if this product if
available in all countries, but as far as I know it’s available
anywhere in the U.S. and can be ordered online from any pharmacy or drug
store, and can be purchased at stores in the U.S. such as Walgreen’s,
Long’s Drug Store, Walmart, Kmart, Target or any store that carries
skin care products.It
comes in bottles of 8 or 16 ounces, and the size you purchase depends on
the length and thickness of your hair, or how many heads need to be
treated in your household.It’s
a rather thick lotion, almost odorless, and can be used on even the most
sensitive skin.However, it can sting if it gets into your eyes.

Now
that you know what it is and what to purchase, here is a list of other
things you will need and directions for use:

Cetaphil
Gentle Skin Cleanser

Applicator
bottle, such as the plastic bottles hair dye comes in.

A
regular hair comb (must be fairly sturdy, as the lotion is very
thick)

A
wide toothed comb (for thick or longer hair, to keep it untangled)

A
metal lice comb

Towel

Hair
clips for sectioning hair

That’s
it!

Method

Start
with dry hair and cover your shoulders with a towel. (Cetaphil is very
thick so you won’t have much dripping) Use a good metal lice comb to
comb out as many nits as possible before you start. Section your hair
off in very small sections; it’s extremely important that you
coat every strand of hair, and apply the Cetaphil directly to your scalp
at each part you make in your hair so that you lessen the chance of
missing even ONE louse on your head!Use Cetaphil liberally and massage, massage, massage it in. Even
ONE louse left uncoated may survive to reproduce.

Once
you are sure you have covered every strand of hair and every inch of
scalp, use a regular (but sturdy comb) to begin combing out the excess
lotion.You may need to use
a wide toothed comb first, if your hair is thick or very long.Comb until you have removed as much of the excess Cetaphil as
possible.Once that is
done, use a hair dryer to dry your hair.(Use the most powerful hair dryer you have, as the drying process
can take up to three times longer than drying after a shower--this is
the only really time consuming part of the process, as the Cetaphil
takes much, much longer to dry than water.)

What
will happen is that the Cetaphil will dry on your head, hair (and also
on the lice), cutting off their source of oxygen, and therefore
smothering them.(In a
sense, they will be ‘shrink wrapped’)Lice can literally survive for hours without breathing, so
this must be left on the hair for a minimum of 8 hours.This can be done before bed, so that the ‘smothering’
process can take place during sleep. You must make SURE that your
hair is completely dry in order for the lice to be totally
encased in the dried Cetaphil, and therefore be unable to breath.

After 8 hours, wash
and dry your hair normally. Use the metal lice comb once again, to comb
out any surviving live nits.For
best results, you must repeat this treatment three times in one-week
intervals to make sure that newly hatching lice do not survive to begin
the hatching and reproducing cycle again.

All bedding should
be washed after each treatment, as well as any clothing, pajamas or
towels used during lice infestation.Combs and brushes should be run through the wash cycle, or can be
put in the freezer over night. Carpeting and furniture should be
vacuumed, however lice cannot survive away from human heads for longer
than 20 hours.We are their
‘food source’, so there is no need to be overly concerned about lice
that have fallen to the floor or carpet.Lice also can not hop, jump or fly, and are only transmitted
via head to head contact, or by using a comb or brush used by someone
with head lice.However,
they do crawl, so they may crawl from pillow to pillow or crawl onto
clothing that is shared or hung close together, such as sweaters and
coats hung up closely together in a classroom.

I do hope that this
will be of help to you, and I look forward to hearing about anyone who
has tried this treatment and has had the same success I’ve had!

LICE FREE AND/OR LICE FREEE

There used to be a product called Lice Free but this
site is no longer available and it looks as though this domain name may
be going to be utilised for very different purposes. A different
product came on the market using the name Lice Freee
and this seems to be picking up all the traffic from the original
site. I don't know if there is any connection between these two
products.

I have battled with Head lice for a lil over a year with my 5 yr old and my 3 year old and let me tell you
I was going crazy. I had cried from frustration so many times and one day I was walking thru wal-mart and
I happened to notice a new Lice shampoo called Lice-Freee!!!!! I saw that it was Non-Toxic.

By this point of time
I had tried all those other Lice shampoos and they didn't help at all. I tried the cetaphil cleanser method the
mayonnaise method, you name it, I had tried all except this particular
shampoo, so I said what the heck why not. I used it and well I am amazed it killed those lil buggers. I felt almost an
immediate relief and then I did a follow up with Tea tree shampoo from
Paul Mitchell. I now pay more for my everyday shampoo but it has helped keep them away I cannot tell you how relived
I am and so are my girls.

Thank you for your wonderful Website and good luck to all those other moms out there that are fighting the battle of LICE!!!

A. Brewer

You wanted to hear from someone who
has tried this. My daughter had head lice which kept coming back.
School personnel treated me as if I were incompetent although I am a
Registered Nurse and was following all the directions on the Rid and
Nix. I learned that some Lice are resistant to these products so I
tried Lice Free! Even though my daughter would not wear the enclosed
shower cap this product ended our months-long ordeal. It was safe
enough to use several times in the first week. Our pediatrician found
out that the active ingredient "natrium muriatica" is just
common salt. It is sad that so many of us struggle with headlice
without seeking advice from others because we are embarrassed. I will
gladly recommend Lice Free to anyone who asks.

My thanks to Linda C. for sending in
this response

Another product on the
market that is said to sort the issue in
ONE day, with just ONE EASY APPLICATION.

So how is X.it so effective?

According to the manufacturers -

Most other head lice products only
attack the living louse leaving the eggs in the hair to freely
hatch and continue the infestation. X.it treatment packs, on the
other hand, attack both the head lice and the nits (eggs) within
the hair. This eliminates the potential of further lice hatching
amongst the hair thus leaving the hair completely lice free, and
with a healthy shine.

FROM JENNY SCOTT

I read your pages on head lice with
great interest and noticed that the remedy I now use was not
mentioned so thought I would add it to your list.

My daughter has very thick long hair.
Nearly 5 years ago she got a bad case of head lice, I like all your
other readers tried everything. Her head was raw from the combing
and products I used. Then a friend told me to buy Quassia wood
chips.

It is so easy it is unbelievable. You
boil the wood chips in water for about 20 mins, drain and use the
water as a final rinse when washing the hair. The lice don't die
immediately, but not only does it kill the lice but it kills the
eggs too. You still need to remove the dead eggs but they don't
hatch. Since using the wood chips to clear the lice I now keep
a solution made up in a spray bottle. Any sign of nits in the school
and a couple of squirts on the hair twice a week is all that is
needed. Having done some research it seems the Quassia tree poisons
insects and is used as an insecticide amongst other things.

My daughter has not had lice now for
nearly 5 years - I passed this on to people that I worked with and
became a regular supplier to at least a dozen people as I only knew
of one shop which sold it.

Unfortunately the shop I used has now
closed down and I have been searching on the internet for a new
supplier (which is how I found your site). If anyone is interested I
have found a site which sells these -
www.dulwich-herbs.co.uk

We discovered a
Polish remedy called Delacet, which is a mix of lark spur tincture
and vinegar, that really seems to have seen off the nits. The
greasy things sound too disgusting for words, and I am exhausted
from hanging over the side of the bath and combing for nits.
Haven't had to for a while now having used Delacet.

I have just been reading your
web pages on headlice and felt I must contact you immediately to let
you know about a remedy I have used on myself and my two daughters.
It is called Nice 'n Clear and all the details about it can be found
on www.lice.co.uk (under the heading of Nice 'n Easy). The product
can be bought at most chemists and health food shops, in particular
Holland and Barrett. The price ranges from between £7.99 - £8.99.

The main ingredient is Neem Oil, which attacks the nervous system of
the louse and also the nits before they hatch. It prevents them from
being able to breed and feed properly. My daughters and I had
headlice for 10 months, and were at our wits end, when we saw this
product advertised in a mail order catalogue. I then surfed the web
and the rest is history! We've now been free of them for nearly a
year! What's more, this product can be put on the hair on a regular
basis (every day if necessary) as a preventive measure.

It's totally natural, and is suitable for people with sensitive skin
and medical conditions such as eczema and asthma. Both my daughters
have sensitive skin which was left in a terrible state after having
been treated with a chemical product, so I would certainly recommend
it to anyone, particularly children. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pass
this on to your readers, as like me, there must be an awful lot of
people out there struggling with this problem, when they don't have
to.

One visit to the above website will give you such a lot of detailed
information about Nice 'n Clear, that at first you may think that it
sounds too good to be true, as I did, but glad that I gave it a go.
I nearly didn't, as I have tried everything, and I mean everything,
and have spent a fortune in the process! In fact, one of the things
I am working on at the moment is passing this info on to schools, GP
surgeries, Hairdressers etc.. in my area, and also putting up
posters, so that people can get in touch if they're really
desperate.

I'm also going to go to my local newspaper office to see if they can
do a piece on it...it's a huge problem and something needs to be
done about it...my Health Visitor and the School Nurse just kept
dishing out prescriptions for chemical products, which have no
effect whatsoever! Wet combing hair with lots of conditioner does
help, but it is so time consuming, and doesn't always get them all
out....you only have to miss 2 or 3 lice and you're back to square
one again! Another thing that a lot of people don't realise is that
some of the products on the market are alright for people with fine
or thin hair, but my eldest daughter has extremely thick hair, which
makes treating the problem all the more difficult. In fact, just
before we discovered Nice 'n Clear, she opted to have her hair cut
really short as she was getting so fed up with having to stand for
hours on end getting it combed, and then there's the constant
itching, and finally the late nights by the time the combing was
finished...combing thick hair can take a long time!

Anyway, I hope that this letter can give hope to other people who
have found themselves in this same situation...having headlice isn't
a life threatening condition, but can be very distressing
nonetheless, especially for young children.

Mrs. Amanda Livingston

At the end of November I received the following message
from Elizabeth Grant, singing the praises of a product called
Follicel -

"With reference to
headlice treatments.I gave up long ago on otc products because of the toxins and chemicals
causing side effects.I used mayo, vaseline and a few other old so called
remedies. .But they
were messy and didn't work.6 weeks ago I was recommended Follicel.
It is 100% all natural I bought a bottle and was delighted when it only took 20 minutes to
work. My two girls have now been free from headlice for 4 weeks and I use Follicel every
third or fourth day as I have found it works as a repellent."

By a very strange coincidence a few
days later I was contacted by the manufacturers of "Follicel" as follows:-

"My particular attention was drawn to your section
dealing with headlice and some of the very unorthodox and bizarre attempts to clear
headlice. My company markets an all natural product which I will refer to
later. I am appalled by what some mothers are using on their children's hair if they used it on their
household pets the RSPCA would have them in court in an instance charging them with animal
cruelty. The following points should be made for parents to act upon

(1) 99% of all otc products contain toxins and or chemicals

(2) Most of these products in fact all of them do not kill
or remove headlice totally they may kill one or two it is the wet combing with a
proper nit comb which removes the lice dead or alive.

(3) So called treatments containing toxins and chemicals do
have side effects and in the USA at the present time there are a number of class action
suits taken by parents against the largest manufacturers of these
products. These actions
are being taken because manufacturers claims have proven to be
worthless, childrens have
suffered side effects some of which were very serious, families were involved in continuing
expense of cleaning, washing and replacing bed linen, hats, scarves and other
items. So what
is the situation here in the U.K. we have consumers purchasing products which promise
results when they don't the consumer buys another product and another product and so
on and then when they have reached desperation point they try using old fashioned methods
and quite bizarre ones at that.

The consumer must exercise their power and they do have it
although most of them don't realise this or can't be bothered to make waves.

(1)If a product doesn't work DON'T throw it in the
dustbin, TAKE IT BACK to point of purchase demand a full refund on the cost

(2)Complain to the local trading Standards Officer

(3)Complain to the head office of the store where you
purchased the product if it is part of a Chain

(4)Complain
to the Advertising Standards Authority

(5)Tell your friends that the product is useless and not to
purchase it.

It is time that the British consumer made themselves heard
and used the purchasing power that they have got but which has been lying
dormant. WAKE UP
BE HEARD DON'T BE TREATED LIKE IDIOTS BY THE MANUFACTURERS OF PRODUCTS THAT DON'T WORK!

June, my company markets Follicel you can take this section
out if you wish it is not my intention to use your website as a platform for our
product. And we amassed a tremendous feedback of information from visitors; they have told
us heartrending stories about the failed attempts to eradicate headlice and the suffering
that a lot of their children have been put through unnecessarily.

Consumers have been dealt with in a cavalier fashion by
manufacturers and suppliers for far to long it is time to rebel!"

After receiving this message I
contacted them again to clarify a few points, particularly, In view of their remarks
concerning taking products back which do not work, I asked them if they would allow the
return of the product if it did not work, their response was as follows -

"Thanks for your reply. The particular subject of
"Headlice" is one that effects 80% of parents at any one time and it can be very
costly not only when they try all the otc products with no satisfactory result at the
end. And then the cost of laundering bed linen and other items of
clothing. Then the biggest
factor is when the child is excluded from school attendance if both parents are
working, one of them has to take time off from work which can in itself be costly if they
do not have an understanding and sympathetic employer.

I will now answer the questions you have raised.

(1) The product is only available from our site on the net
or by calling our office during normal trading hours and purchasing can be made by either
credit or debit cards.

(2) 90%-95% of Follicel sales worldwide are through our
website there are a small number of other sources in South Africa
and one in Canada.

(3) From the first day we started marketing Follicel we
informed people that we would refund the full purchase price if it didn't
work. So far only
one refund has been made in the U.S.A. and we discovered afterwards that the parent had
not followed the usage instructions to the letter.

I shall gladly answer any other questions you may wish to
ask!

About a week before I contacted you we had a
desperate mother call us in absolute desperation, her daughter had been continually
infested with headlice for 6 months and the mother had purchased and used every
available "Head lice treatment?" she could find. NOT ONE PRODUCT was even
remotely successful she purchased Follicel and called us some 4 days after she had
received the Follicel she was in tears it had worked as we promised and there was not
a louse to be found in her daughters hair.

I have no personal
experience of this particular product but it may well be worth a try, it would appear you
have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

About
Follicel

I used Follicel after reading comments in this website and
after carefully following the manufacturer’s instructions found
that it was as useless as any other over the counter remedy. I
notice that nowhere is the product claimed to kill lice, but
rather to ‘facilitate combing’. Almost no lice were removed
and they could be seen on the scalp happily going about their
business straight after treatment. I am still waiting for a
reply after returning the product for a refund.

Electronic lice combs are not much good either. A few lice get
caught, but there are always plenty more where they come from, so
I found it a losing battle.

By contrast I have found the conditioner treatment to really
work. I used one that had tea tree oil, but it probably wasn’t
important. Dampen the hair with a spray or wash and towel dry
well. Apply the conditioner liberally and work well down to the
scalp. Leave a few minutes and comb out well with a good quality
steel lice comb, starting at the ends so as to remove tangles and
working right up to the scalp. The comb should follow the scalp
firmly all over the head and each stroke should pull straight
through the hair. (Don’t remove the comb from the hair
mid-stroke). Wipe off the conditioner on tissue. The first time I
used this treatment two hundred lice were removed and that seemed
like almost all, if not all, of them. It seems the things just
can’t hold on and get all gummed up in the conditioner. The eggs
are not removed however, so repeat the treatment at two day
intervals. I used three treatments over four days and have just
had a follow up session a week after the last application –
result? My kids are louse free.

These
observations have been received from John Speight

Barb Stolar
knows only too well the
trials and tribulations caused by head lice and, like myself, feels a bit of humour can
help a lot in any stressful situation. With this in mind she has adapted the well known
poem "Twas the night before Christmas" and has kindly given us permission to
reproduce it in the hope it may bring a smile to other faces -

CHRISTMAS 2001 AT OUR HOUSE

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the OUR house .Not a creature was stirring not even a
louse.The stockings were NOT hung by the chimney .. WE
DID NOT DARE!In hopes that two weeks in a black plastic bag would be their best care.

The children were nestled all snug
in their freshly sprayed, vacuumed, and laundered bed,While freshly hatched nymphs, danced on their heads.And mamma in her olive oil and I in my Mayo and shower capHad just settled down, totally exhausted from this crap!

When out on the lawn there arose
such a clatter,I sprang from the freshly decontaminated bed to see what was the matter,Away to the window, I flew like a flash,Tore off my sticky shower cap and threw up the sash.

The liquefied mayonnaise on my
chest, white as the new fallen snowGot in my eyes and ran to other objects below,When what to my watering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny FLEA infested reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively
and quickI knew in a moment it must be Saint NIT,More rapid than eagles his courses they came,And he whistled and shouted and called each mangy one by name.

"Now, Dandruff ! Now
Louser
now, Nymph and Nix,On, Lice-Meister, on, Rid on,
Itchy and Picks!"To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away ALL!

He was all dressed in fake fur, from
his head to his foot,And his beard was all covered with a funny white dandruff-like, nitty looking soot,A bundle of stuffed toys he had flung on his back,
I ordered him to spray and seal it for at least two weeks before he brought ANY of THOSE
toys back!

He was cheery and plump a right
HAIRY
elf,And I cringed when I saw him in spite of myself,A wink of the eye and a twist of his infested headSoon gave me to know I had EVERYTHING to dread!

He spoke not a word and went
straight to work, He looked really offended when I called him a "louse infested jerk"!,And laying his nit comb aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He huffed to his sleigh, to his team
gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALLAND GET RID OF
YOUR LICE!

As I have said this subject provoked many
responses and from the replies received it would appear that head lice do not like greasy
things, whether it be Vaseline or mayonnaise! Perhaps hair gel is not such a bad
idea after all eh Mums!

MPORTANT
- Hints and Things does not necessarily endorse or recommend any or all of
the suggestions contained on these pages. We would never recommend
the use of pet shampoos, kerosene, etc., especially on children.
They may well get rid of the lice but can be dangerous and may call health
problems in the future. Professional advice should be sought before use.

No portion of this site may be reproduced or redistributed without prior
written permission from Hints and Things. All trademarks & copyrights
throughout Hints and Things remain the property of their respective
owners.

Hints and Things cannot be
held responsible for any information given on this site nor do they
necessarily agree with, or endorse, the views given by third parties.